Psychology Should Stay Away From Partisan Politics For About 15 Years

In case you have missed it, one of the big fads in academic psychology at the moment is the move to find the psychological predictors of political attitudes.

This PT post was the article that motivated me to write this post. But it's just the worst of a large and growing literature. The field got it start with this paper by Amodio and colleagues 5 years ago. Even Colin Firth is getting involved. Since then the field has bloomed and has even produced a popular science book.

Admittedly, this I think is a brilliant scientific question. Clearly there are some factors that motivate some of us to become liberal and others to become conservative. It's poorly understood, and figuring out the patterns behind it is directly in psychology's wheelhouse. Come to think of it, it's unclear why this work wasn't done 50 years ago.

But having said that, I think the way these studies are done and publicized is deeply troubling. Generally, these studies find that Republicans or conservatives have some psycholgical defect that causes their condition. Or they find that conversative is associated with some trait that is bad. The studies are anti-conservative. That's bad science and it's bad strategy.

[And in the spirit of disclosure, I will state I am a garden variety academic liberal who voted straight Democratic ticket in '08 and will do so again in '12.]

Let me start with strategy. Psychology research is generously funded by the government. Not just NIH dollars, but student loans, tax deductions for universities, and land grants. This money really truly needs to serve everyone. The moment that conservative students feel unwelcome in the psychology department is the start of the end of public funding for psychology. Taxpayers are about half liberal and half conservative, and are constantly looking for programs to cut in order to reduce taxes. Colleges are under a ton of scrutiny right now for over-charging. Even if those charges are inaccurate, now's a particularly bad time to make waves. If you don't believe me, look at what's happening right now with politicalscience.

I'd be more tolerant of these risky moves if they were supported by science. But when I read these studies, it just doesn't seem fair. These scientists aren't checking their biases at the door, like good scientists should. They are doing quick and dirty studies that confirm their own biases. If I saw even a few studies that made conservatives look better than liberals, I might think real science was going on.

For example, let's look at the grandfather of these studies, Amodio's 2007 paper. He and his colleagues report that "greater liberalism was associated with stronger conflict-related anterior cingulate activity, suggesting greater neurocognitive sensitivity to cues for altering a habitual response pattern". Liberals are cognitively flexible! Conservatives are are rigid! But greater conflict related anterior cingulate activity could also mean enhanced fear. Liberals are more motivated by fear! doesn't have the same sex appeal because it doesn't fit into our stereotypes. [For more on anterior cingulate and bad politics, see my previous post here]

Part of the problem is that these research results have what journalists call sex appeal, so they make it to the newspaper all the time. And when they do, they have to be simplified and sculpted to appeal to readers. Journalists aren't interested in nuance; they need a hook. And generally the story turns into 'republicans have this problem'. This isn't journalism's fault. The journalists just pick up on the biases in the psychologist's work.

People doing this kind of research are playing with live ammo. They need to manage the way their research is presented to the public more carefully. But more than that, they need to make sure they aren't just producing results that satisfy their own stereotypes about convservatives.

My suggestion is that psychologists who are truly interested in this topic spend about 15 years doing the boring and solid background work that will provide the foundation for a real psychology of political science. If they really believe in it, they should do it without fawning media support.

And they should make a point of consulting with and communicating frequently with real true conservatives. This might make these psychologists less biased. And more cognitively flexible.

I know you cannot see, but I am giving you a standing ovation for your post. Finally some academic sense on this Godforsaken website...

This site has been a depository of hack academics with psychology degrees, posting articles with no value other than to spew political dogma from their keyboards. It is always one-sided and has no redeeming value to the psychology community or the public writ large.

I would hope that others that post on this site would have the academic integrity that you have and recognize that being objective is the hallmark of good science or research or anything in our fields. Again, well done!

As someone who leans conservative and is deeply fascinated with the field of psychology, I want to thank you for writing this article. Psychology should focus less on "pidgeonholing" certain groups and more on the nuance of the results.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.’

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’

The old Cherokee Chief simply replied, ‘The one you feed.

The soul like the body accepts by practice whatever habit one wishes it to contract ~ Socrates

Both sides are feeding the evil wolf. Even those who claim to want peace are not focused upon peace but on their fear of war. A true focus on peace, love, hope, joy and serenity does not elicit fear nor does it elicit partisan anything.

Feed the one one you want to live. There are only 24 hours a day and less than that during which you are awake. You get to choose your focus. Yes, you really do. Choose to focus on what is desired and it will thrive.

I really don't see myself as conservative or liberal. On some subjects my views are liberal, on others they are conservative. Having said that I have to say it goes much further than politics though, this bias you speak of. For instance, there's an article on yahoo's front page today about all the things women do better than men. OK, maybe this things are backed up with scientific studies. My question is do you ever see an article about all the things men do better than women? No. You're not allowed to publish an article like that. There are tons of other examples I could give that show this bias in many other areas but in the interest of keeping this post relatively short I'll skip it, but just say it goes much further than politics.

... how ignorant the american public really is. The reason there is a 'witch hunt' is because conservatives deny science like climate change and distort science for their own ends against the public good.

To say there is NOTHING wrong with conservatives you have to be sticking your head in the sand.

The "moderates" like yourself are the bloody problem. If there's a nuclear power plant near me in my backyard and someone of conservative persuasion denies it, he is NOT LIVING in reality.

To say republicans aren't taking advantage of americans for financial gain is idiotic.

I have Autism, which I was diagnosed with around the age of seven years old, I've been to two mental health centers.The only thing that kept me alive in those horrible Bedlam Houses was prayer to God Almighty.Everytime I read an article on Psychology Today about people who believe in the Genesis acount being mentally ill, it makes me want to cease to exist.Why must I be marked
as a freak because of my deeply
helt personal beliefs?

I feel the pain emanating from your comment and wanted to share something that is beneficial to anyone.

Other people's opinions have nothing to do with you.

They can only impact you if you accept them as valid. You are the one who can give (or not give) power to what other people think as it relates to you.

Your own thoughts and beliefs are valid for you. You give them power by your belief in them.

If you believe other people's opinions matter then they matter to you.

Listen to what feels best to you to believe and KNOW that your beliefs are the most valid for you.

We did not come here to all be the same. On some level you know this. It is only society that has trained us to pay attention to what they think. Our uniqueness is really where our value comes. The common thought that we should all find one final answer that is best for all is a false premise. It does not serve us.

There is more about all of this on my website and you can click on my name to get there if you are interested.

These same studies also stress that Republicans tend to place emphasis on things like loyalty; they want a cohesive and conformist group.

When people pull together in one direction, it can accomplish great things. However, if the leaders of the group head toward peril, everyone pulls together toward the same danger.

Even if one does assume that the literature is meant to condemn Republicans, what about other political groups in the past? The Know-Nothings of the 1850s favored white protestant males above all others. They fought hard against immigration/naturalization. (Ring a bell?) If we were to examine the political attitudes of Know-Nothings as representative of certain personality traits, I doubt anyone would be offended. The author is merely offended because he feels that the party in which he's a member is being threatened, and wants to be a loyal member by defending it.

"They should make a point of consulting with and communicating frequently with real true conservatives." No true Scotsman fallacy, right there! The author, of all people, should know that these studies show generalities rather than individual variation. Just because the results don't depict your beliefs doesn't make them invalid, Dr. Hayden, and it doesn't mean the Republicans studied weren't true Republicans.

What you don't understand is that conservatives habitually discriminate against people. They habitually feel the need to control people's personal habits, sexual orientations, and thinking. Republican politicians have been shown to lie significantly more than Democratic politicians. It's been shown that the fear sector in the brain is significantly more active in conservatives than it is in liberals.

Liberals have been standing up for equal rights, public discussion of differing philosophies, promotion of arts and science, education, among other things since the beginning of civilization. Conservatives have been fighting against those things since the beginning of civilization. Certainly for thousands of years before the labels 'conservative' and 'liberal' popped up.

Conservatives, as we now call them, truly are an impedance to human progress and societal well-being. Anyone who disagrees would benefit from cracking open a history book.